Ironing out some issues.. can anyone shed some light?

S

Spazhands

'ere mate
I had a couple come to me to record 2 or 3 tracks.. We arranged for 6pm, but they rolled up at 10:30 ? Anyway we got 1 track down but due to time had no opportunity to check over it closely etc.
I was aiming for a live sound as the room(also my local venue where I am resident engineer) has a very nice lively sound. The guitar has di and 2 mics, one at soundhole and one at bridge pointing toward fingers ish. I used a room mic at opposite end of room pointing to the apex in the ceiling.
Now we are meeting for a re-run due to a few things, but I have noticed issues with the guitar mics.. 1 is apparent distortion and the other is excess string slap. I know this is mostly due to the technique especially in the last section.. But is there anyway to tame this? I don't think I can point the mics any further away from the fretboad ?


https://soundcloud.com/spazhands/kelsey1
 
The distortion I assume was just you setting levels too high, rather than using the output jack? The sounds from many guitars DI out is pretty awful to be honest - fine for live stuff but not that nice to listen too. Is the string slap part of the sound they want? You're just going to have to experiment with mic positions to find the idea one for this guitar. Are you sure the ceiling apex is the right place to focus on? If the guitar sounds nice at the back of the room, I'd suggest it's the mix of direct and rejected sound that pleases the ear, so again, experiment with this. I'm not a lover of recording room sound with one mic - if you want to do this, a stereo pair at the rear might sound more real, but to be honest, maybe you could do it with artificial, controlled reverb better?
 
Hi thanks for reply. Regarding the room.. I have taken an impulse of the same room and it is ran through altiverb to supplement the live mic, so I can manipulate it a little better. The main issue is the distortion and string noise. All the gain staging is 100% ok as it is the same setup I have used many times before.. In fact they are probably set on the lean side! Staring to wonder whether the caps in my interface are dying! Just a thought!
 
Oh and the di on the guitar is very low in the mix, I mainly used it with a low pass so I could play with lows a little
 
Spazhands said:
Hi thanks for reply. Regarding the room.. I have taken an impulse of the same room and it is ran through altiverb to supplement the live mic, so I can manipulate it a little better. The main issue is the distortion and string noise. All the gain staging is 100% ok as it is the same setup I have used many times before.. In fact they are probably set on the lean side! Staring to wonder whether the caps in my interface are dying! Just a thought!
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I seriously doubt there is an issue with the interface, though you do not state what you are running through. Is it a vintage interface? lol!. Sorry I kidding as I have a original 1973 DBX 160x compressor that was used in a hot, smokey and sweaty dive bar until a few years ago that surely needs new caps. But it still sounds pretty good.

If you are sure your input gain was not excessive, then it may just be the guitar/player. Please describe what you mean by 'lean'. Maybe adjust a bit to find the sweet spot with the mics.
 
Spazhands said:
I had a couple come to me to record 2 or 3 tracks.. We arranged for 6pm, but they rolled up at 10:30 ��
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The #1 reason I decided to learn to record and mix my own tunes was because an old friend/musician/engineer showed up 2 hours late....to his own studio. :facepalm: I said "never again".
 
andrushkiwt said:
The #1 reason I decided to learn to record and mix my own tunes was because an old friend/musician/engineer showed up 2 hours late....to his own studio. :facepalm: I said "never again".
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Really...that was your #1 reason for getting into recording on your own? :)
Was he late all the time with you, or just the one time? :D

Usually it's the artists that don't have their shit together for sessions, especially of these a bunch of them...rarely the engineers, because there's always some prep that needs to be done before anyone shows up.

That said, recording sessions often are a bit laid back, in many cases...you always have that initial band setup time, and getting things rolling, especially on Day 1.
Still...if I was waiting for someone from 6:00PM until 10:30PM...they would have kissed a locked door at 10:30. :p
 
Ha yea, well to add salt.. I am doing it free of charge �� Stoners eh! Anyway by 'lean' I meant under gained. The distortion does only appear to be on the guitar tracks and everything is going through the same desk/interface. Interface in question is renowned for bad caps(emu 1820m). I have another 1820 I will use next time round. Its annoying because this issue would have been addressed had they been vaguely on time!
. What do you guys think of her voice? Gives me goosebumps hearing it live! Convinced her to work on harmonies though! Cheers
 
Spazhands said:
Ha yea, well to add salt.. I am doing it free of charge �� Stoners eh!
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I would expect at least a couple of joints...to lessen the pain of having to wait for them. :cool:


Spazhands said:
What do you guys think of her voice? Gives me goosebumps hearing it live! Convinced her to work on harmonies though! Cheers
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Her voice...very sweet.

I suggest one of two things...either record her dry...or add some deeper ambience to her voice, if you can't record her again.

The way it is now, it's kind hollow sounding with that room ambience....it doesn't fit the guitar sound....IMO.
If that's the only room you have, and you want to record her again...hang a couple of blankets around her...like 3-4' away...that way it won't sound real dead, but it should take out some of that hollow reverb sound.

Option two...add some MORE reverb to her voice...to make the reverb deeper/fuller, and see if that removes the hollow sound.

You could also try a second mic when she sings( no blankets, of course)...about 10' away...and add more of that into the vocal...but it depends on the room.
 
Thanks for the input... And I was a little drunk by the time they turned up. I get free drinks as I run sound at the venue.... Dangerous!
. I agree with what you have said, this is what I have planned for next go:
Get her closer to the mics for more presence.
Weld my SE reflektion filter up as it broke off the mount on the day.
Set the pair up further apart and sort monitoring(tried to avoid before).
Tell them to turn up on time so I can deal with placement etc.
 
How do you mean two mics at the same distance?
Where is she standing relative to the two mics....???

I meant one mic for her to sing into up close...and a second mic like 10' further...directly in line with the other...one behind the other. Of course, you then can't put up the reflection filter.
The room should be long, so the mic(s) are at least a few feet away from them

If you do the two mics like that...put up some blankets on her sides and behind her...like 3-4' away from her...that way you only have the far wall reflecting back.

Or...put up the reflection filter and the blankets...and then add ambience later on.
 
I used two different directional mics next to each other, just so I could see which worked best for the next session. She was probably around 6-7 inches away... I did tell her to get closer a few times, but it was late by this point and I was getting restless.ha
 
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